| Disc-winged bats | |
|---|---|
| |
| Drawing of Peters's disk-winged bat | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctilionoidea |
| Family: | Thyropteridae Miller 1907 |
| Genus: | Thyroptera Spix 1823 |
| Type species | |
| Thyroptera tricolor Spix, 1823
| |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Hyonycteris Lichtenstein & Peters 1854 | |
Disk-winged bats are a small group of bats of the family Thyropteridae and genus Thyroptera.[1] They are found in Central and South America, usually in moist tropical rain forests. It is a very small family, consisting of a single genus with five extant and one fossil species.
The name comes from the suction cups found at the base of the thumb and under the heel of these animals, similar to those found in sucker-footed bats. These structures help them to cling smooth surfaces, and to remain, for example, inside young coiled banana, Heliconia, and prayer plant leaves, where they roost.
They can also be recognized by their reduced thumbs, which are enclosed by the wing membranes, and their funnel-shaped ears. They have brownish to black fur, and roost in small groups, or singly.[2] They are insectivorous and can live in many different kinds of environments.
- ^ Simmons, N.B. (2005). "Order Chiroptera". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Macdonald, D., ed. (1984). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. p. 807. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.